Tag: Beth Israel

Paul hopes to make history

Annamie Paul is running to succeed Elizabeth May as leader of the Green Party of Canada. (photo from Annamie Paul)

Annamie Paul wants to be the first woman of colour and the first Jewish woman to lead a political party in Canada. But, in the process, the human rights lawyer and former diplomat who is running to succeed Elizabeth May as leader of the Green Party of Canada has been taken aback by the overt antisemitism thrown at her since it became widely known that she is Jewish.

“You almost can’t believe what you’re seeing,” said the Toronto native, who has worked extensively overseas. “There are very explicit comments questioning my loyalty to Canada because I am Jewish. There are those who have suggested that I am seeking to infiltrate the party on behalf of Zionist elements.”

Paul said what disappoints her most is the almost complete silence from others when antisemitic posts are made on social media, such as the Facebook group for Green party supporters.

“The comments were whispers at first, innuendo, and now they’ve become very explicit,” she said. “If people are allowed to make these comments unchecked, it really emboldens them and that’s definitely what I’ve noticed over the last week or two.”

Amid a litany of such comments – including items not directly targeting her but equating Israelis to Nazis on Green-oriented social media sites – only one single individual not on her campaign team has called out the offensive posts. At the urging of Paul’s campaign, moderators removed some of the most disturbing ones.

“It’s taken me aback,” she said. “It wasn’t something I was fully prepared for, to be honest.”

She differentiates between people who are deliberately provocative and those who are uninformed.

“I accept that there are a certain number of people who still need to be educated … and, while it’s perhaps not my responsibility to do that, I’m willing to do that because I think if I can create a little more understanding, then that’s important,” she said.

Paul spoke at a Zoom event organized by Congregation Beth Israel and moderated by Rabbi Jonathan Infeld on July 8. That conversation was primarily about Paul’s life, Jewish journey and career. In a subsequent interview with the Jewish Independent, she delved more deeply into policy and her experiences with antisemitism and racism.

Born in Toronto to a family from the Caribbean, she was among the first students in Toronto public schools’ French immersion program. Her mother, a teacher, and grandmother, a nurse and midwife, worked as domestics when they arrived in Canada. Her mother went on to get a master’s of education and taught in elementary schools for more than three decades; her grandmother became a nurse’s aide.

Paul credits her mother’s broad-mindedness and spiritual bent for the openness that led her to embrace Judaism in early adulthood. Paul was converted by the Hillel rabbi while completing a master’s of public affairs at Princeton University. She also has a law degree from the University of Ottawa. She chose Ottawa in part because its law faculty emphasizes law through an Indigenous lens. In addition to seeking at an early age to be an ally to Indigenous peoples – she started law school at 19 – she saw parallels between the Canadian situation and her own heritage as a member of the Black diaspora.

“We have been stripped of all of the things that Indigenous peoples are fighting for still in this country,” she said. “Through colonialism, we lost our identity, we lost our culture, our language, our religions. We really can’t tell you anything with any great degree of precision about our ancestors. When I saw other peoples fighting for those things, I understood intuitively how important it was.”

Paul has worked as a director for a conflict prevention nongovernmental organization in Brussels, as an advisor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and as a political officer in Canada’s mission to the European Union. She co-founded and co-directed an innovation hub for international NGOs working on global challenges and has served on the board and advised other international NGOs, including the Climate Infrastructure Partnership and Higher Education Alliance for Refugees. She is married to Mark Freeman, a prominent human rights lawyer and author. They have two sons, one in university in London, U.K., the other in high school in Toronto.

Returning to Canada after spending about 13 years abroad, Paul looked at Canadian politics with fresh eyes. While she had been courted to run provincially by the Ontario Liberal Party in the early 2000s, she opted to run federally for the Green party in 2019. She took about 7% of the vote in Toronto Centre, which was won by Finance Minister Bill Morneau. She is one of nine candidates running for Green leader.

She chose the Green party because, she said, “we don’t have time to fool around with the climate emergency.”

“I celebrate the compromise that is the spirit of Canadian politics,” Paul said. “This is the Canadian way. But there are some things that you simply have to do all the way or it really doesn’t work. One of those things is the climate emergency. If we don’t hit our targets, then we are setting ourselves up for disaster. The Liberals, the NDP, the Conservatives, they’re just not committed to that goal and so I wanted to make it clear that I was aligning myself with the party that was very, very committed to reaching those targets.”

COVID-19, for all the health and economic devastation it has wrought, also presents opportunities, said Paul. In Canada, federal and provincial governments came together and political parties set aside partisanship to an extent. Canadians who may have been skeptical that a massive challenge like climate change could be ameliorated see what concerted governmental action – and massive investments – can look like. “[Canadians] know that money can be found if it’s needed and they know that we can mobilize very quickly,” she said.

The billions of dollars being invested into the economic recovery should be directed toward projects that explicitly advance a green economy, she said, such as a cross-Canada energy grid that produces electricity from renewable sources to be shared throughout the country. This is just one of a range of opportunities that Paul sees emerging from this extraordinary economic challenge.

“For a country as wealthy and well-educated as Canada, if we want to be, we can really be first in line for all of this,” she said. “It’s exciting.”

The Green leader has limited constitutional authority in a party dedicated to grassroots policymaking, Paul said. If party members adopt a policy that challenges the leader’s core values, the leader may be required to walk away. Such a scenario emerged in 2016 after the party adopted a resolution to boycott Israel. Following a showdown, the resolution was rescinded and May carried the party into the subsequent election. As a result, Paul said, the party is on record supporting Israel’s right to exist and opposing the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

Paul opposes the Netanyahu government’s Jordan Valley annexation plan because she believes it contravenes international law. But she also urged vigilance against those who might mask their antisemitism in anti-Zionism. And she stressed the unlikelihood of pleasing everyone on either side of the Israel and Palestine divide.

“I don’t feel that there’s anything these days that you can say in terms of that conflict where you’re not going to attract criticism that you were too soft or you were too hard,” she said. “It’s very difficult.”

But, while she doesn’t have the magic answer to resolve the longstanding conflict, her background in diplomacy and international law makes her confident in asserting that negotiated settlement is the route to any eventual solution.

“Dialogue always has to be the preferred option,” she said, adding that international law must be applied to all sides. “State actors, non-state actors, they are all subject to international law. Their obligation is to respect international law and to protect fundamental human rights. There are no exceptions to that.”

At a time when North Americans and others are facing our histories of racism and injustice, Paul finds herself at an opportune intersection.

“I’m very aware of what I represent as a candidate,” she said. “I’m a Black woman, I’m a Jewish woman.… I know people are very interested in my identities and I embrace that…. I would say, though, that [I hope] people will take the time to get to know me and not to create a one-dimensional image of me simply focused around those identities. I feel that I’m very prepared because of the work I’ve done, my academic studies, etc. I’m very well prepared to take on this role and all of the elements of this role.

“You’re not just an environmental advocate as the leader of the Green party, for instance, you also need to be able to talk about foreign policy, you need to be able to talk about economic theory, you need to be able to talk about rural revitalization and what are we going to do about long-term care and should we decriminalize illicit drugs. You need someone who is three-dimensional and I know that I’m three-dimensional and I hope people remember that.”

As a Jew of colour, Paul also has insights on antisemitism in the Black Lives Matters movements and racism in the Jewish community.

“The Black diaspora is not a monolith,” she said. “The Jewish community is not a monolith, either. Don’t ever take the actions of some members of the community as an indication of how the entire community feels.… I would just say don’t let that push you out of wanting to support the community in the way that you should. In terms of Black and Indigenous lives in this country, the statistics just take your breath away. Not just the criminal justice statistics but also health, education, life expectancy, they are really very troubling and those communities need as much help as they can get from people who really understand, who have suffered a great deal of persecution historically, as well, and have had to create opportunities and overcome barriers and still do.”

The leadership vote takes place Sept. 26 to Oct. 3. The deadline to join the Green party to vote in the election is Sept. 3.

Sponsoring a refugee family

The Alsidawi family, sponsors and congregants at the Vancouver International Airport, January 2019. (photo by Adele Lewin Photography)

Canadian Jews have a long history of standing up for the rights and welfare of refugees. And while Jewish immigrants have often been at the receiving end of this generosity, Vancouver Jewish congregations have played a frequent and often crucial role in ensuring the safe relocation of many non-Jewish refugees as well. They have sponsored refugees from Tibet, families from Vietnam, as well as helped relocate Jews from North Africa and Hungary during times of political unrest. When Canada announced its intention to accept some 25,000 immigrants from in and around wartorn Syria in 2015, many Vancouver congregations once again stepped up to help.

The news of a little Syrian boy whose body had washed up onto a Turkish resort beach in 2015 became a haunting symbol of the war for many Canadians, Rosalind Karby and Miranda Burgess told the Independent. In November of that year, the two women, along with a small cadre of volunteers from congregations Beth Israel and Beth Tikvah, launched an appeal to sponsor a Kurdish family’s immigration to Canada. Karby, who is no stranger to philanthropic initiatives, said the decision to mobilize a sponsorship was a “no brainer” for her, and for many in the local Jewish community. “There’s no question. That [image] sort of galvanized us.”

By 2016, the effort to save Syrian civilians in peril had become an egalitarian issue: Orthodox, Conservative Reform and Renewal congregations here were finding their own ways to fundraise and reach out. In the Lower Mainland, Schara Tzedeck members voted to contribute funds to the Joint Distribution Committee’s humanitarian aid efforts, while Or Shalom, Temple Sholom, Beth Israel and Beth Tikvah applied to the federal government for permission to sponsor families to Canada.

Burgess said, for many, the decision to help fleeing Syrian families emanated from longstanding Jewish experience. “From wandering Aramaeans and other dispossessed Jews to post-Holocaust migrations, to a situation like this, it felt like a very direct line, I think, to a lot of people,” she said.

But, if the ethical decision to provide a lifeline for refugees was a “no brainer,” as Karby put it, the path to bringing that sponsorship to fruition was anything but simple. It was not merely a matter of overseeing their resettlement in Vancouver. There would be a long list of forms to fill out. There were meetings with immigration representatives and members of the Anglican Church archdiocese, which coordinated the sponsorship process for this program. And there were lengthy virtual meetings with the applicant family, who, for the time being, was living in a crowded refugee camp in eastern Jordan.

There was also an “exhaustive” number of details to collect, often over spotty wireless connections, to verify the family’s eligibility: education backgrounds, family histories, residences and connections for all adults. In all, about 40 pages of forms to fill out, said Burgess.

For the family, the application process had its own challenges. For Hanan Alsidawi, the mother, it meant repeated trips to the capital, Amman, an hour-and-a-half drive away from the refugee camp, to secure paperwork, signatures and permission. Her husband, who had been reported missing when the family fled Syria, had not been found. Making it to Canada safely now rested on Hanan’s own initiative and the kindness of strangers thousands of kilometres away in Vancouver.

Sponsoring a refugee family came with considerable financial responsibility. According to the Canadian government, the sponsors were in charge of covering all out-of-pocket costs for the family for one year, including food, lodging and incidentals. That meant the sponsors would need to have a minimum of $40,000 in the bank to qualify. Moreover, Burgess and Karby estimated, that was actually low: for a family of three, the cost of living would be closer to $50,000 a year. The team would need to raise at least $10,000 more than mandated by the government.

“At the time, BI had just completed five years of fundraising for the [synagogue’s] new building,” Karby said. It was also just wrapping up its annual High Holy Day Appeal, another important humanitarian project that relied on the congregation’s support. Asking the entire congregation to take on a third project – and quickly – seemed unrealistic.

After some thought, the sponsorship team decided to take a different tack: they would reach out to a smaller, select group of family and friends who might be able to cover the sponsorship. And they would put a top limit on each donation.

“We determined a maximum gift of $1,000 so that no one person would feel that they should just pay the whole thing and no one person could feel they had to meet up to some high standard,” Karby explained.

But that still meant coming up with at least 40 to 50 donations.

“So, we cast a wide net,” Burgess said. “We worked our networks.”

They appealed to donors both inside the congregations and out. They contacted people they knew had contributed to humanitarian initiatives before. And they appealed to friends far away.

“I went to graduate school in the United States and I have a big network south of the border,” Burgess admitted, noting that the idea struck a chord with American residents as well, “who, because of their own governmental circumstances weren’t able to do sponsorships but felt the same urgency.”

By the end of the appeal, they had received donations from as far away as Michigan, Massachusetts and Maryland. “All were very small, but contributed to the whole,” said Burgess.

They had met their goal – and then some. Karby said Beth Tikvah’s donation of $10,000, whose fundraising was coordinated by David Numerow, put the project over the top, bringing the total to just over $50,000.

Still, it took more than two years for the family to receive approval to immigrate. In January 2019, Hanan and her two children, Mahros and Safa, arrived at Vancouver International Airport to a fanfare of elated family and Jewish congregants. Some of the Alsidawi clan was already living in Vancouver, so Hanan and her children would be able to count on help with things like language interpretation and getting settled in their new city.

We were strangers, too

According to Congregation Beth Israel president Helen Pinsky, quite a number of BI congregants stepped up to support the initiative privately when it was announced. She said she chose to donate because the endeavour resonated with her values as a Jew.

“Many of us had been involved in sponsoring the Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s,” she said. “It had been a very happy, very successful experience for me.”

She said the experience taught her the value of such initiatives. The sponsorship, she said, “is certainly in keeping with our beliefs and how we should behave, according to our forefathers, and it seems like it is consistent with an organization of people who have strong feelings about pikuach nefesh, the saving of a soul.”

Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, who serves as Beth Israel’s head rabbi, said helping others is a core principle to the Jewish faith, specifically because of the historical experiences of the Jewish people.

“Torah tells us that we were foreigners in a foreign land and we need to care about foreigners, and people suffering,” Infeld said. That’s why the congregation – and other synagogues as well – felt it was essential to help Syrian families in distress. “We wanted to take up what the Torah told us in a very real, concrete way.”

Even though sponsors’ financial responsibilities ended in January, their bond with the Alsidawi family has not. Burgess and Karby continue to visit Hanan and her children and check up on their progress. By law, the sponsors are not permitted to offer further funding, and Karby admits that the transition will continue to take time for the small family.

For the volunteers, the past four years of effort was more than a gesture of generosity. It was crucial they help.

“You save one life, you save a world, and we were fated to do what, well, any human being should do, really,” said Karby. “But I think that our Jewish tradition of helping the needy, of trying to save a life definitely propelled Miranda and me.”

“Saving one life is as if you saved a whole world,” Burgess agreed. “And, now that geopolitics has intensified the Syrian crisis again and people are once again fleeing in vast numbers, I am so thankful we were able to help one family. I wish we could have helped all families, but to help one family is something and we were grateful we were able to do it.”

Jan Lee’s articles and blog posts have been published in B’nai B’rith Magazine, Voices of Conservative and Masorti Judaism, Times of Israel, as well as a number of business, environmental and travel publications. Her blog can be found at multiculturaljew.polestarpassages.com.

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Note: This article has been amended to correct Rosalind Karby’s first name, which was misspelled in the original version.

Community milestones … Suedfeld, Averbach, Phillip, Gutteridge, BI

Dr. Peter Suedfeld with Governor General Julie Payette at Rideau Hall. (photo by Sgt. Johanie Maheu)

On Nov. 21, 2019, Vancouver’s Dr. Peter Suedfeld was among those invested into the Order of Canada by Governor General Julie Payette during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

The Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest civilian honours. Its companions, officers and members take to heart the motto of the order: “Desiderantes meliorem patriam” (“They desire a better country”).

Suedfeld was invested as an officer of the order. The honour’s website notes that his “groundbreaking research expands our notions of resilience and transcends academic fields. Professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and a prolific writer, he is internationally acclaimed for documenting previously ignored positive psychological and physical effects of extreme and challenging environments. His work has taken a critical look at the impacts on humans experiencing polar isolation, space exploration, sensory deprivation, decision-making during international crises, and such traumatic experiences as genocide. He is highly regarded both as a mentor and active member of his community.”

Created in 1967, the Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Close to 7,500 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the order. Those who bear its iconic snowflake insignia have changed Canada’s measure of success and, through the sum of their accomplishments, have helped build a better country.

Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada. For more information about the Order of Canada or to nominate someone, visit gg.ca/en/honours.

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photo - Gary Averbach at the Israeli Scout’s facilities in the city of Ra’anana
Gary Averbach at the Israeli Scout’s facilities in the city of Ra’anana.

JNF Canada is proud to have completed renovating the infrastructure of the Israeli Scout’s facilities in the city of Ra’anana, to be more accessible for children and youth with disabilities. This project was the focus of the JNF Vancouver 2017 Negev Dinner, honouring the Averbach family.

The Israeli Scouts, Tzofei Tzamid, run programming for more than 80,000 members aged 9-21 (including more than 2,500 with disabilities) throughout Israel. They bring together children and youth from across the spectrum of Israeli society to learn leadership skills and the value of inclusive community, and to enhance their self-image.

A special thank you to Gary Averbach, Michael Averbach and Shannon (Averbach) Gorski, and the entire Vancouver community for taking this vision forward and helping JNF improve the lives of the members of Tzofei Tzamid. To learn more about the project, visit jnf.ca/tzofei-tzamid.

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photo - Rob Philipp will start his position as chief executive officer of Hillel BC in June
Rob Philipp will start his position as chief executive officer of Hillel BC in June.

Rob Philipp has been appointed to the position of chief executive officer of Hillel BC, effective in June.

Philipp’s appointment follows a Canada-wide process engaged by the search committee of the Hillel board of directors, comprised of Gordon Brandt (chair), Eric Andrew, Rebecca Recant, Frank Cohn, Talia Magder, Alexis Pavlich, Rachael Segal and Isaac Thau (board president). Philipp was the unanimous recommendation of the search committee and unanimous choice of the board of directors.

Philipp has a long history with the Vancouver Jewish community, having served on several boards, including 20 years on the board of Temple Sholom and being president of that organization. He participated in the Vancouver Wexner Heritage Leadership Group, which was a selected group of local Jewish leaders that studied and learned together for two years.

Philipp brings a unique and impressive set of experience, credentials and passion to Hillel. After graduating from the University of British Columbia, where he was an active member of Hillel, he worked as a chartered professional accountant. He then developed his career in sales, marketing and management in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, most recently as the chief executive officer of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and as interim executive director of Temple Sholom.

He is known for being a creative and innovative leader, with a warm and strong team approach and a people-first mentality. His experience in developing and executing strategy, program development and delivery, combined with his business, governance and financial acumen, will be tremendously valuable to the continued growth of Hillel based on the strong foundation built by Rabbi Philip Bregman and Sam Heller in recent years.

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photo - Jessica Mann Gutteridge is the new artistic managing director of the Rothstein Theatre and Chutzpah! Festival
Jessica Mann Gutteridge is the new artistic managing director of the Rothstein Theatre and Chutzpah! Festival.

The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver welcomes Jessica Mann Gutteridge as the new artistic managing director of the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre and Chutzpah! Festival. The position was previously held by Mary-Louise Albert, who is leaving after 15 successful years. The JCC thanks Albert for her excellence in service and dedication to the community and the arts.

Gutteridge joins the JCC from Boca del Lupo, where she managed Performance Works on Granville Island. She was also a founding board member of the Granville Island Theatre District. She held positions of managing director and education manager at Carousel Theatre for Young People. Her work as a dramaturg has included new plays for young audiences and playwrights from Shakespeare to Genet to Edwin Sánchez.

She received her master’s in fine arts from the Yale School of Drama’s department of dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, and studied directing at Wesleyan University. Born and raised in New York, she returned to the theatre after nearly two decades as a lawyer specializing in advertising and trademark law. At Columbia Law School, she was editor-in-chief of the Columbia-VLA Journal of Law and the Arts. Her nonprofit board work has included serving as co-president of Landmark on Main Street (a performing arts and community centre on Long Island, N.Y.), the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival, and the Bayview Treehouse Preschool. She was a member of the 2018-19 Cultural Leadership Program at the Banff Centre in Alberta.

“I look forward to continuing to bring diverse, world-quality artists to present their work to Chutzpah! Festival audiences and to reach a new generation with exciting performances. I am also delighted to steward the Rothstein Theatre as a gem appreciated by professional artists and community members throughout Metro Vancouver.”

The JCC is excited to see Gutteridge apply her industry experience and talents to the management of the centre’s fully equipped 318-seat performance venue, and the creative direction of the Chutzpah! Festival, one of the major art events in Vancouver’s cultural calendar.

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At Congregation Beth Israel’s annual general meeting Dec. 5, several volunteers were recognized. Mazal tov to Howard Mickelson and Keren Gertsman (President’s Award), Lloyd Baron (Board of Directors Special Service Award), Michael Harris (Board Recognition Award) and Lissa Weinberger (Special Service Volunteer Award).

The congregation also welcomed its incoming board for 2019-2020: Helen Pinsky (president), David Silver (vice-president), Heather Sirlin (secretary), Keren Gertsman (treasurer), Lisa Averbach, Anton Bloem, Alexis Doctor, Kevan Jacobson, Lisa Marcoe, Christie Menzo, Dale Porte, Jennifer Wolf and David Woogman.

BRCAinBC’s inaugural event

Jane Remocker and her daughter, Catriona, holding a photo of Geoff Remocker, who passed away in 2016 from pancreatic cancer. (photo from BRCAinBC Committee)

Education is a key goal of the upcoming One in 40: From Awareness to Empowerment event being held at Congregation Beth Israel on Jan. 8.

“BRCA 1 and 2 is the code for variant mutations of two genes known to increase the lifetime risk of several serious cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers and other cancers linked to reproduction in women and prostate cancers in men, as well as pancreatic cancers and melanoma in all genders,” explains the BRCAinBC Committee’s project primer. One in 40 is the probability of carrying the genes among Ashkenazi Jews – compared to a risk of 1/500 to 1/1000 in the general population.

The BRCAinBC Committee, organizer of the One in 40 event, describes itself as “a group of concerned members of the Jewish community in British Columbia, many of whom have been affected personally or in our families by the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes and genetically linked cancers.”

The committee’s work is supported by Beth Israel, which is its home, as well as many other community members, organizations and institutions, including the B.C. Cancer Agency, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Diamond Family Philanthropic Fund.

“There are currently no efforts being made in British Columbia to create awareness or cover general genetic testing for people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage – in the past, this was due to the prohibitive expense of testing,” notes the primer.

“There have been significant recent gains in the medical community around improving the affordability of testing for genetic mutations,” it continues, “however, awareness of risk is still low amongst members of the Jewish community and, currently, holding a risk profile of being of Ashkenazi Jewish descent is not sufficient to be covered for genetic testing under B.C.’s Medical Services Plan (MSP).”

The impetus for the committee and the One in 40 event was the death of Geoff Remocker of aggressive prostate cancer in 2016. After he died, his wife, Jane Remocker, and the family met with Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld. She explained to the Jewish Independent in a phone interview that, as members of the congregation, there were donations being made to the synagogue in her husband’s honour, and the rabbi wanted to know where the family wanted to direct the funds. The couple’s youngest daughter, Catriona, who works in the healthcare field, suggested they do something with respect to BRCA genes. Since they weren’t quite sure what they wanted to do on the topic, the donations were held in a discretionary fund until Jane Remocker scheduled a meeting with the rabbi and her daughter two years later, in June 2018.

“By then, she and I had ideas and came up with our three basic goals,” Jane Remocker told the Independent. The three short-term goals of the committee were education and awareness within the Jewish community, and easier access to information about the BRCA genes; advocacy, which involves providing information about and access to screening options, both private and public; and fundraising to cover what has become the One in 40 community-wide education event and the BRCAinBC.ca website, which will be launched in January.

Since Geoff Remocker didn’t meet the criteria for B.C. Cancer Agency’s Hereditary Cancer Program, which offers genetic counseling and testing for “residents who may have inherited an increased risk for specific types of cancer,” he signed up for a B.C. Cancer study of drugs that treat prostate cancer, which included gene testing.

Remocker said he signed up for the study because, “as he said to me, ‘I don’t think the drugs will help me, I think it’s too late. But, if there’s a gene that’s driving this cancer to be aggressive and resistant to treatment needed, that knowledge will help other people.’” It was discovered that he was indeed a BRCA carrier.

Part of the issue, said Remocker about why her husband wasn’t eligible for the Hereditary Cancer Program, was that, while they knew some of her mother-in-law’s medical history, they knew nothing about her father-in-law’s side of the family, who came from Poland and Russia.

“And this is not uncommon,” she said. In addition to this generation not talking about health issues, in general, there wasn’t so much knowledge about health back then.

While a lack of family medical history can be one obstacle in getting genetic testing, she said, another is that many people don’t realize that men can be carriers of the BRCA mutant genes.

“They thought it was only a gene that affected women as breast cancer,” said Remocker. It is important, therefore, and a goal of the committee’s educational program, to make sure that Jewish men – especially if they have roots in Europe – know that they are possible carriers and, therefore, consider getting screening.

photo - Libby Znaimer, national spokesperson for Pancreatic Cancer Canada, will be the keynote speaker at One in 40: From Awareness to Empowerment, which takes place Jan. 8 at Congregation Beth Israel
Libby Znaimer, national spokesperson for Pancreatic Cancer Canada, will be the keynote speaker at One in 40: From Awareness to Empowerment, which takes place Jan. 8 at Congregation Beth Israel. (photo from BRCAinBC Committee)

Confirmed panelists for the One in 40 event are Dr. Rona Cheifetz, medical lead of the Hereditary High Risk Clinic, B.C. Cancer Agency; and Dr. Intan Shrader, who, along with Dr. Sophie Sun, is co-medical director of the B.C. Cancer Hereditary Cancer Program. The panel will also feature medical oncologist Dr. Daniel Khalaf of the B.C. Cancer Agency and Jewish community member Tovah Carr, a BRCA carrier. There will be a chance for audience members to ask questions.

Keynote speaker Libby Znaimer of Zoom Media is national spokesperson for Pancreatic Cancer Canada; she is a cancer survivor and a BRCA gene carrier. Her personal fight against breast and pancreatic cancer is the subject of the 60-minute documentary Cancer Saved My Life, which discusses “the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutations that predispose people to pancreatic cancer, and the connection between BRCA and breast and ovarian cancer,” as well as the “groundbreaking research going on in Canada and Israel, where there is a BRCA-rich population.”

The BRCAinBC.ca website will be “a one-stop place for people to go to get information about the genes and the mutations that indicate the cancer risk and where they can go for private screening if they don’t meet Hereditary Cancer’s criteria or they don’t want to wait,” said Remocker.

Hereditary Cancer has a long wait list, she said, so the website will have some options for private screening. “We’ve researched and found a number of accredited medical genetic labs that do specific inherited Jewish genes screening and we know that, [for] at least two of them, the results are accept[ed] by the Hereditary Cancer Program.”

Currently, the cost for private testing is about $250 US, said Remocker. This alternative means that, “instead of waiting six to 12 months to get your first interview with the Hereditary Cancer Program, you get a saliva test, you apply. They send the package to you, you send it back and you get your results anywhere from two to six weeks.”

A person can then take those results to their family doctor, she said, as a referral is needed for the HCP.

The website will also feature personal stories of those who have been affected by the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes, as well as links to current research and resources.

Michelle Capobianco, the executive director of Pancreatic Cancer Canada, will be in attendance at One in 40, Catriona Remocker told the Independent. “[T]hey are considering working with us to roll out similar events to Jewish communities across Canada to improve awareness,” she said.

To register for the event, which runs 7-9 p.m., visit bethisraelvan.ca/ event/one-in-forty.

Choosing love not hate

On Sunday, vigils were held in many cities to commemorate the 11 worshippers killed at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018. The shooting was the deadliest attack on Jews in American history.

As we have mourned and taken greater measures toward protecting ourselves, we have, mainly, not let fear paralyze us or isolate us from our neighbours and the larger world. We have continued to live Jewishly, whatever that means to each one of us; whether it’s helping those less fortunate, lobbying for sound government policies, going to synagogue or simply being kind to the people we encounter in our day.

In Vancouver, community members and others could join two collective moments of remembrance on Sunday: the Jewish Federations of North America’s Pause with Pittsburgh, which included the livestreaming of a public memorial service, and a service at Congregation Beth Israel, organized by the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, Hillel BC and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.

Over the weekend, Jews were also encouraged – as they were in the wake of the tragedy last year – to #ShowUpForShabbat, an initiative of the American Jewish Committee, calling for us “to honour the victims and raise our collective voice for a world free of antisemitism, hate and bigotry.”

Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, who grew up in Pittsburgh, told News 1130, “There are still many people who are frightened and worried about what took place a year ago…. There are people who are concerned about coming to synagogue and people who are concerned about antisemitism. Especially on holidays, one of the messages I deliver is that, unfortunately, antisemitism is on the rise in the world. But we have to remain strong, to have the courage to come to synagogue, and to not allow attacks like this to prevent us from being who we are and to deprive us of the benefits that come from being in a sacred space.”

Infeld also noted, “One of the aftermaths of the attack is that people in Pittsburgh didn’t feel this was an attack just on a synagogue, they felt it was an attack on Pittsburgh…. We have to understand an attack on any sacred space is an attack on an entire community, so we need to stand together as one community with the message that love is stronger than hate.”

While the situation is not as bad as elsewhere in the world, the number of hate crimes and the incidences of antisemitism in Canada, including in British Columbia, have increased worrisomely. Love has a long row to hoe. Not only to give us the courage to speak up in the face of prejudice, but also to confront and temper our own. Not only to make us self-assured enough to make space for those with whom we agree and for whom we care, but also for those with whom we disagree and whom we dislike. Not only to inspire us to dream of a better world, but to give us the imagination and resourcefulness to bring those aspirations into being.

Love can only be stronger than hate if we choose to make it so.

 

Wonderful night of honours

Jewish Seniors Alliance’s first silent auction, which offered a selection of close to 30 items, from gift certificates from local businesses to paintings and prints. (photo by Susan Curtis)

How do you say thank you to individuals who strive to better the lives of people in the community? Jewish Seniors Alliance’s answer is an appreciation dinner, part of its annual general meeting, which comprises a tribute to three conscientious community personalities. As well, at this year’s AGM on Sept. 19, thanks were given to outgoing JSA president Ken Levitt and new co-presidents Gyda Chud and Larry Shapiro were welcomed.

Levitt’s leadership was praised by Shapiro, who noted the outgoing president’s “ever-present love of life, which inspires everyone and brings out the best in each person whom he meets.”

Chud read a poem, “Captain Ken,” written by JSA honourary life member Binny Goldman. It noted: “You listened with your ear and understood with your heart. Your experience, knowledge and judgment always saw us through successfully – you are a leader, a man above most men.”

Anne Kang, MLA for Burnaby-Deer Lake, spoke about the ongoing efforts of the B.C. government on seniors’ issues, including improved long-term care assistance and training of care workers, and the overseeing of buildings and streets, to ensure that they are accessible and safer for seniors.

Emcee Jack Altman began the honouree ceremony with a tribute to Tzvia Estrin, who was nominated by Yaffa House.

Estrin’s son Avie, who is the current president of Yaffa House, recounted the efforts of his mother and late father Aaron, who worked for 10 years to establish Yaffa House. It opened in 2001 as Western Canada’s first home dedicated to housing community members with mental illness in the context of a Jewish living environment, including kosher food. He said his mother continues full-throttle, being at Yaffa House every day, usually at 6:30 a.m. And he emphasized that “nobody could have achieved what Tzvia has attained and continues to do for the most vulnerable segment of our own community.”

Yaffa House presently oversees four homes across the city, including a newly opened women’s facility. Its mandate is to provide permanent non-transitional housing and has in-house support. It takes people off the streets and tries to keep them off the streets.

Tzvia Estrin thanked everyone and read the poem “Don’t Turn Your Back,” which emphasizes the importance of taking the time to compassionately listen to others’ needs and to help them as lovingly as one is able.

Cindy Charkow, a director of Yaffa House, noted the outstanding, much-needed service that the facility provides and stressed that, “without Tzvia, there wouldn’t be a Yaffa House.”

The second honouree, Jack Wizenberg, was recognized for his work with Tikva Housing Society, which helps lower-income Jewish people find affordable housing. He said, “Seeing Jewish individuals and families who are alone, struggling and having to rely on social insurance and the food bank to survive, touches my heart.”

Wizenberg served on the Tikva board for six years, bringing to the position his 41 years’ experience in property management, as well as a lifelong involvement in a range of Jewish organizations and causes in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

He said he felt “extremely moved” when reading a Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver housing needs study indicating that, in 2015, 16% of the Jewish population in Greater Vancouver were living below the poverty line “and, in all likelihood, those numbers have increased over the last four years.” He emphasized that things beyond their control prevented these people from working and, in a blink of an eye, they found themselves in need and relying on social assistance to survive.

Wizenberg began his service at Tikva helping with maintenance and tenant issues at Dany Guincher House. Since the first 11-suite apartment building in Marpole was purchased in 2008, he said, Tikva has made available 18 units of mixed single and family housing in the Diamond Residences in Richmond and another 32 family townhouses will be available in the Ben and Esther Dayson Residences in Vancouver’s Fraserview area. Last year, 100 individuals were helped by the Esther Dayson Subsidy Program, which provided those in need with adequate funds to allow them to continue living in their current accommodations.

Tikva president Shelley Karrel said Wizenberg seemed to have a passion for property management and often joined the property management and/or fire-safety group when doing walkthroughs to evaluate building conditions and the need for repairs. His positions have included treasurer, building committee head and acquisitions committee head.

“He was always seeking to ensure the best for Tikva, the buildings and its tenants,” said Karrel. “He is a person who respects others, is very organized and is a great team player. We are blessed to have Jack as a board member and friend.”

Evening honouree , whose tenor singing voice has brought joy to countless individuals and organizations throughout the Jewish and general communities for more than six decades, was introduced by JSA president emeritus Serge Haber.

“We’re honouring people who love community,” said Haber. “Maurice has helped seniors so very much by enthusiastically and nobly giving his special talents, his outstanding voice to the community, and particularly to seniors. Your father, George Moses, a celebrated rabbi/cantor in Bangalore, India, would have been most proud of you. Without question, you are most deserving of this honour.”

Moses spoke of the pleasure he receives by entertaining, and especially in doing so for senior citizens, emphasizing that “our precious seniors should not be ignored and they should be entertained and respected for their countless contributions to life in the community. The only way that I can thank seniors for all they have done is through my singing. It gives me great satisfaction to see their smiling faces, their faces lighting up when I see them react to a song familiar to them.”

Moses shared some of his many religious/concert participations for seniors, including singing for 17 years at Shabbat services at Louis Brier Home and Hospital. He has sung with the Jewish Community Centre Choir, the Shiron Singers, with Elizabeth Wolak and Muriel Morris, and the Rinat Ensemble, all of which performed for seniors. He also has produced a Vision TV show, Let’s Sing Again, which featured a popular tunes sing-along aiming to revive seniors’ nostalgic memories.

He has sung and danced for the past 10 years with the seniors’ concert group Showtime, which is produced by Beryl Israel, as well as with the Vancouver Jewish Men’s Choir (VJMC), the Kol Simcha Choir (composed of members from all synagogues), at Temple Sholom services with Cantor Emeritus Arthur Guttman, at Beth Hamidrash, at Beth Tikvah Synagogue and at Chabad Richmond with Cantor Steve Levin. He is an active participant with the Choir of the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL), which stages a variety of special shows for community seniors.

Moses said his enduring love for seniors was developed by his interactions with the late Beth Israel Cantor Murray Nixon, who constantly stressed the importance of treating older people with respect.

“I am so pleased,” said Moses, “that this evening is taking place at Beth Israel, truly ‘my home away from home,’ where I served in the synagogue’s choir for 66 years under seven different cantors and six different rabbis – and with Pucky Pelman, my mentor for 45 years.”

Moses expressed appreciation to his “guest of honour,” his daughter Melissa, “who has been by my side through three bouts of cancer, making me drink lots of water, eat healthy foods, and go on long walks at the Southlands.”

He gave “a most sincere thank you” to a number of people: Arnold Selwyn, his “35-year wonderful partner in song”; Morris, a pianist with whom he has performed for 55 years; Miriam Breitman, with the Rinat Ensemble and now the PAL chorus, and PAL co-founder Bill Harvey; Binny Goldman, for her help at Louis Brier services; Stan Shear, VJMC musical director; Cantor Yaacov Orzech with the Kol Simcha Choir; and Jonathan Berkowitz of BI’s Purim Shpiel.”

He ended by singing “Let’s Sing Again” and, with Selwyn, Adon Olam.

A video on JSA’s outreach and peer support activities, produced by Cory Bretz of Heirloom Films, was screened, followed by the JSA’s first silent auction, which offered a selection of close to 30 items, from gift certificates from local businesses to paintings and prints.

The event was co-chaired by Tammi Belfer and Larry Shapiro, with committee members Tamara Frankel, Helene Rosen, Marshall and Marilyn Berger, and JSA staff Elizabeth Azeroual and Rita Propp. Catering was provided by Nava Creative Cuisine; the photographer was Susan Curtis.

 

Bob Markin is a longtime Jewish Seniors Alliance supporter.

Ray of light, warmth

In a story that is positive and uplifting, Rabbi Adam Stein, associate rabbi of Vancouver’s Congregation Beth Israel, wrote a piece in Canada’s Anglican Journal, which describes itself as the largest faith-based publication in North America. In the article, Stein describes his engagement with national leaders of the Anglican movement as the church has reviewed its liturgy around Judaism and Jewish people. Stein was representing the Canadian Rabbinical Council, a cross-denominational group under the auspices of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. (Click here for article.)

While the slow machination of the church’s processes means it won’t be official until at least 2022, the recent General Synod of the church approved the replacement of a prayer for the conversion of the Jews with a prayer for reconciliation with the Jews. The move is monumental in the context of Jewish-Christian relations. The idea that Christianity is a replacement theology to Judaism – and that Jews should convert or disappear, with all that implies – prevailed for nearly 2,000 years. At heart, it is a negation of the Jewish people’s right to exist and, indeed, at times in history, conversion or death were the two choices Jews were offered.

The two-millennia history of conflict, supercessionism and religious-based antisemitism went almost unchallenged until the 1960s, when the Roman Catholic church underwent a revolutionary reconsideration of many aspects of its theology, including its relations with Jews. Since then, other branches of Christianity have taken leads of varying sorts in addressing their own histories of oppression directed at Jews, as well as at women, indigenous people and communities, LGBTQ+ people and others.

The generosity of spirit evidenced by Canadian Anglicans – and the obviously heartfelt expression of gratitude in Rabbi Stein’s written reflections on the issue – are a welcome ray of light and warmth in a world that too often seems lacking in these elements.

 

Goldene Medina comes here

The Goldene Medina exhibit is designed to have the feel of a scrapbook album, to have come from any Jewish South African’s family memoir. (photo from South African Jewish Museum)

The Goldene Medina exhibit arrives in Vancouver July 29 for two weeks. A celebration of 175 years of Jewish life in South Africa, the exhibit was displayed in South Africa, Australia and Israel prior to arriving here, where it is making its North America debut at Congregation Beth Israel. Local Jewish community member Stephen Rom, who is from South Africa, saw it for the first time in Sydney and was instrumental in bringing it to the city.

“You need to remember your past to engage in the present,” reflected Rom. “I was struck by the level of professionalism of this exhibit, which was produced by the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town. What’s different about it is the way the stories have been written. Nobody is named or personally identified. This is the story of all Jews in South Africa, the community as a whole.”

The Goldene Medina was the Jews’ name for Johannesburg when they arrived during the gold rush in 1886. “This exhibition has soul – it’s not a dry exhibition of facts and figures,” noted Wendy Kahn, national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. “It’s one that tells real stories of families that have been living in South Africa for 175 years.”

“This is a social history,” agreed Gavin Morris, director of the museum, “the story of families and people and their experiences as South Africans and as Jews for 175 years, from our forefathers arriving to contemporary Jewish South Africa. Everything is taken from unpublished memoirs, articles and out-of-print books, to give the exhibit a sense of a scrapbook album, of any Jewish South African’s family memoirs. Our goal was for people to find their own stories in similar stories.”

The stories are excerpts written in the first person and accompanied by photographs old and new. One excerpt, titled “My Mother’s Table,” reads, “At my mother’s table, ‘being full’ was never a reason to stop eating. Some of the many reasons to have some more included: ‘I cooked this especially for you because I know you like it,’ ‘you can’t put so little leftovers back into the fridge,’ ‘it’s freshly made,’ and ‘you don’t like my cooking.’ Refusing more was to snub the generosity and abundance that was on offer. Eating was proof that you were loved and that you knew how to love back.”

Another, titled “Cubs,” reads: “After my mom realized that I only knew Jewish kids, she sent me off to Cubs – not exactly your standard Jewish activity. I came home with my first friend and said, ‘Mom, isn’t it wonderful? Here’s my first friend from Cubs and guess what – we’ve got the same Hebrew teacher!’ He was the only other Jewish kid there and we found each other. My mother gave up after that.”

A third is titled “A Surprise Guest”: “What is the epitome of Jewish chutzpah? Inviting the president of the country to attend your bar mitzvah. And what is Jewish mazel? When the president actually accepts. The bar mitzvah boy delivered his handwritten note to a security guard outside [Nelson] Mandela’s Houghton estate. He hoped to get a card from Mandela in return. Instead, his parents received an official call to say the president will attend. On the day, President Mandela arrived and sat at the main table, between the bar mitzvah boy and his father.”

The excerpts are thought-provoking, poignant, entertaining, informative and never boring. And the photographs are deeply intriguing, telling a story of their own – a timeless Jewish story that has relevance to all Jews whose ancestors have known immigration and resettlement.

Accompanying the Goldene Medina in Vancouver will be the exhibit Shalom Uganda: A European Jewish Community on the Ugandan Equator 1949-1961, curated by Janice Masur.

photo - The Kampala Jewish community gathers for visit of Chief Justice Joseph Herbstein from South Africa, 1958. Gifted by Ilsa Dokelman, in 2005
The Kampala Jewish community gathers for visit of Chief Justice Joseph Herbstein from South Africa, 1958. Gifted by Ilsa Dokelman, in 2005. (photo from Janice Masur)

“As a child, I lived in this remote European Jewish community on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kampala, Uganda, under British Imperial rule, with no rabbi or Jewish infrastructure. Yet, this tiny community of 23 families and 20 children (15 of whom were born in Kampala) identified as Jews and formed a cohesive group that celebrated all the Jewish festivals together,” explained Masur. “Now that most references to Jews in Uganda pertain to … Abayudaya Jews, I want this history – my story about my Ashkenazi Jewish community in Kampala – to be remembered in the Jewish Diaspora.”

The photos and stories that comprise the Ugandan display are, said Masur, “a testament to a determined but isolated group of Jews who were secular in a [remote] place but upheld their Jewish identity and traditions as best as was possible,” given the lack of religious, educational or cultural Jewish institutions. (For more about the Ugandan Jewish community in which Masur grew up, click here.)

The July 29 opening night of the Goldene Medina starts at 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel, where the display will be up until Aug. 14.

Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net.

BI to honour beloved couple

Phyllis and Rabbi Wilfred Solomon, centre, with Cantor Murray Nixon and his wife Dorothy, left, and Sharon and Irving Kates, at Beth Israel’s 60th anniversary gala in 1992. (photo from Congregation Beth Israel fonds, JMABC L.22263)

On June 17, Congregation Beth Israel will pay tribute to Rabbi Emeritus Wilfred (Zev) and Phyllis Solomon. The rabbi was spiritual leader of the synagogue from 1964 to 1997. During that time, gala co-chair Marcy Schwartzman told the Independent, he officiated at more than 4,000 lifecycle events, including about 500 brit milot and baby namings, 750 weddings, 800 b’nai mitzvah, 250 conversions, 900 funerals and 900 unveilings.

But the cause for celebration goes beyond numbers, of course.

photo - Phyllis and Wilfred Solomon are being honoured by Congregation Beth Israel on June 17
Phyllis and Wilfred Solomon are being honoured by Congregation Beth Israel on June 17. (photo from Beth Israel)

“Rabbi Zev and Phyllis Solomon were the heart and soul of Congregation Beth Israel for many years,” said board president Helen Pinksy. “Together, they gave our synagogue honour and status as a warm, caring, forward-thinking and progressive community of committed Jews in Vancouver. The role of emeritus for Rabbi Solomon indicates his distinguished service and was not awarded pro forma, but because he, together with his wife, accomplished much and were beloved by the people they served. It is a true pleasure to be honouring him in return with this gala.”

Pinksy and her family have been members of Beth Israel for about 25 years. Upon joining the synagogue, she said, “Almost immediately, I asked Rabbi Solomon to teach me Torah and Haftarah reading, because I wanted to have an adult bat mitzvah. Under his tutelage, it took place. After that, my oldest son Isaac was in Rabbi Solomon’s last bar mitzvah cohort, in 1997.”

Current spiritual leader of Beth Israel, Senior Rabbi Jonathan Infeld, met the Solomons at his installation 13 years ago.

“Rabbi Solomon was beloved because of his warmth, love and concern for the Jewish people, the Vancouver Jewish community and the members of our synagogue,” said Infeld. “He worked extremely hard to bring Torah and love to everyone in his realm. I always hope to emulate his examples.”

Both Infeld and Pinsky attended the Rabbinical Assembly, which took place this year in Montreal May 5-8. Solomon was one of six rabbis honoured by the Conservative movement organization on the first night of the convention.

“Conservative rabbis from across the world were in attendance,” said Infeld. “Unfortunately, Rabbi Solomon and Phyllis were not able to make it because they live in Jerusalem. Rabbi Lionel Moses organized and chaired the ceremony. I spoke about Rabbi Solomon and his wife, Phyllis. Liberal MP Anthony Housefather presented an award that Helen Pinsky received on Rabbi Solomon’s behalf.”

“As soon as I heard about the tribute ceremony for the Solomons, I wanted to be there,” said Pinsky. “It was an extreme honour to accept the certificate of merit and tribute on their behalf. The certificate is signed by Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau, and the prime minister filmed a message of congratulations to the Rabbinical Assembly to welcome us there.

photo - Congregation Beth Israel Senior Rabbi Jonathan Infeld speaks about BI Rabbi Emeritus Wilfred Solomon at the Rabbinical Assembly in Montreal on May 5-8
Congregation Beth Israel Senior Rabbi Jonathan Infeld speaks about BI Rabbi Emeritus Wilfred Solomon at the Rabbinical Assembly in Montreal on May 5-8. (photo from Beth Israel)

“The greatest thrill,” she said, “was to hear Rabbi Infeld describe the accomplishments and the personal courage and integrity of the Solomons to the assembled rabbis and other guests at the assembly. It was easy for us to decide to attend, because we didn’t want this opportunity to honour the Solomons to go by without proper acknowledgement.”

The Solomons worked for the benefit of the synagogue and the larger community. “They became friends with many of their congregants and the families that made up the synagogue, grew up with the Solomon family,” said Pinsky. “Rabbi Solomon took a leading role in advocating for human rights and protecting human dignity within the Vancouver Jewish community and neither he nor Phyllis hesitated to stand up for what they believed to be fair. He was involved in demanding freedom of Soviet Jews, in the exodus of Ethiopian Jews, and he supported Martin Luther King and other leaders who fought for racial and social equality during the ’60s, ’70s and onwards. The Solomons also aided in the synagogue’s adaptation to include women as equals within the Conservative movement. Their impact was huge.”

The couple made aliyah right after Rabbi Solomon’s retirement in fall 1997, said Pinsky. “They have lived in Jerusalem ever since,” she said. “In around 2006, they attended and Rabbi Solomon officiated at my niece’s bat mitzvah at the Southern Wall, just below the Western Wall, and we socialized all weekend. The Solomons retained a warm and friendly relationship with my extended family, as they did with most of the families in the synagogue. They had known my parents since the ’70s, for example, and were quick to send us kids kind notes of sympathy on the passing of our father and then our mother. I know of many congregants who have lunched with the Solomons each time they visit Jerusalem, and still maintain that special relationship that one can have with ‘my rabbi.’”

“I see them every time that I am in Israel,” said Infeld. “We also talk on the phone and email.”

Infeld is joined in leading the congregation by Assistant Rabbi Adam Stein, Ba’alat Tefillah Debby Fenson and youth director Rabbi David Bluman. The synagogue has more than 640 member families, according to its website.

“Rabbi Solomon and Phyllis gave so much to Beth Israel and the entire Vancouver Jewish community. We are as we are today as a synagogue because of the two of them. They built so much. We should always be grateful to them,” said Infeld. “Our gala will be just one way to continue to show them our gratitude and appreciation.”

photo - Cantor Murray Nixon, left, and Rabbi Wilfred Solomon, right, hold a framed photo of Nixon taken by Don McGregor, middle, at Beth Israel, circa 1995
Cantor Murray Nixon, left, and Rabbi Wilfred Solomon, right, hold a framed photo of Nixon taken by Don McGregor, middle, at Beth Israel, circa 1995. (photo from Congregation Beth Israel fonds, JMABC L.22388)

For the last while, the gala committee, which Schwartzman co-chairs with Leatt Vinegar, has been asking the community to send in photographs of and stories about the Solomons. These photos will be shared throughout the event in different ways, said Schwartzman.

“It is going to be a lovely evening of celebrating our beloved Rabbi and Mrs. Solomon,” she said, “but it is also a celebration of our congregation and how it touches our lives at those lifecycle pivotal moments.”

In this vein, a new exhibit is being mounted.

“We are excited to officially open the museum cases in the synagogue once again,” said Schwartzman. “Jean Gerber and Lissa Weinberger have been working hard at bringing back these displays. Phyllis Solomon helped develop the original museum in the old building and she has been involved in helping to decide which pieces will be in this new display that officially opens at the gala.

“We will also be naming the street that leads down to our parking lot … and, if technology holds up, we will be trying a live link to the Solomons in Israel.”

A special book of messages is being designed to give to the Solomons as a keepsake, and a digital version will also be created, so that everyone can view it. To contribute to the book, contact Esther Moses-Wood at [email protected].

Proceeds from the gala and book will support the operation of the synagogue. For tickets ($180), call 604-731-4161 by June 1.

A story of survival and safety

Welcomers of the Alsedawe family at Vancouver International Airport Jan. 21. (Adele Lewin Photography)

More than three years ago, Hanan Alsedawe’s family story of survival began as a waiting game on both sides of the ocean. But, on Jan. 21, 2019, the wait became a welcome as Hanan and her children stepped foot on Canadian soil.

In early 2015, congregations Beth Israel and Beth Tikvah began the long process of sponsoring and reuniting a Syrian refugee family with family who already lived in Vancouver. We worked with the government-approved sponsorship agreement holder – the Anglican Diocese – to prepare and submit our private sponsorship application to the Canadian government. It was a journey requiring perseverance by our coordinating committee, and patience and understanding from the many donors of both synagogues who demonstrated belief in our efforts regardless of the length of time it was taking.

On the Jordanian-Saudi Arabian border, in the Azraq Refugee Camp, Hanan and her two children – Mahros and Safa – shared limited resources with more than 55,000 refugees. Their extended family had made their way to Canada under government sponsorship, but Hanan had stayed behind, in Duma, Syria, because her husband, Raslan Abdulmalik, had been taken away by Syrian government forces and she had no idea of what had happened to him. She waited, she hoped, she prayed, but, eventually, with no sign of Raslan being alive, yet with no confirmation that he was either in prison or dead, Hanan decided to escape from Duma. She made her way with her two young children to Amman, Jordan, and eventually was placed in the Azraq refugee camp. There, she waited for a miracle.

Sept. 2, 2015, was a watershed moment that captured the hearts of people around the world and galvanized Canada into accepting 25,000 Syrian refugees into the country. Hanan’s mother and five siblings came to our shores under those auspices. But it would take years of work and hope to bring the last of Fayzeh Alsedawe’s daughters, with her children, to join the family here.

More than three years after initiating the sponsorship, Beth Israel and Beth Tikvah fulfilled Hanan’s dreams of joining her mother and siblings in Vancouver. On Jan. 21, representatives of both synagogues were on hand at Vancouver International Airport to welcome their sponsored family.

On any given day, at any given time, the international arrivals hall at YVR is a kaleidoscope of colours. On that Monday in January, the full spectrum was visible, augmented by the cacophony of diverse languages and a blending of bodies. Clearly, Canada is at its most multicultural in an airport setting.

photo - Members of the Alsedawe family at YVR: Fayzeh, Hanan, Mahros and Hanadi
Members of the Alsedawe family at YVR: Fayzeh, Hanan, Mahros and Hanadi. (Adele Lewin Photography)

Also palpable was the range of emotions. There was the full gamut of human feelings on display among those awaiting families, friends and strangers to enter the hall. Contrasts abounded: joy competed with sadness, anticipation with angst, relief with uncertainty. Each person arriving searched for familiar faces, welcoming arms and handwritten signs, indicating that someone was there for them.

In this swirl of humanity were representatives of Beth Israel and Beth Tikvah, their dream to sponsor a refugee family from Syria finally reaching fruition. Sharing this moment – indeed, at the centre of this moment – was the local family: the mother, Fayzeh, and her five adult children, Hanadi, Huda, Maha, Hatem and Mohammed, who had arrived in Canada three years ago and had waited anxiously to be reunited with the remainder of their family.

There was something so surreal, yet so tangible and in the moment at that airport reunion. Words are inadequate to describe the outpouring of relief and love when Hanan and her children emerged in the arrivals hall. An invisible bubble enclosed the family, as they looked at each other for the first time in more than four years. And then, quickly, the bubble grew, as our delegation surrounded the family with our own contributions of hugs, gifts and welcome. One gift in particular seemed to unite the new family with our Canadian sponsors – a Whitecaps soccer ball given to 13-year-old Mahros. Soccer, a universal language for children and adults alike!

Every family has a history, a story that captures the essence of their character and experiences. The Alsedawes’ story is one of courage and hope. Their life in Syria was destroyed by war but their determination to escape, under circumstances almost impossible for us to comprehend, means that, today, their story is one of hope and gratefulness. In Hanan’s own words to the committee, “I thank God and I thank you.”

Settlement requires patience. Never has the Hebrew word savlanut meant so much to our small committee. Patience was required in the very lengthy process from application to arrival. Patience is required as we work to settle the children in school, the mother in English-as-a-second-language classes and the family into a way of life totally foreign to them. Within weeks of their arrival, the family had visited a family physician, dental appointments were booked, the children were enrolled in public school, bank accounts were set up and, important in this day and age, cellphones and tablets were provided to them.

Our year of sponsorship has only just begun, but this journey has been undertaken with the generosity of many people. Our donors have compassion and commitment, and understand that, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

Rosalind Karby is co-chair, with Miranda Burgess, of Beth Israel Congregation’s Committee for the Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Initiative.